Unbroken Webs
by Fledgling
Summary: Unbroken Webs: [Twoshot] Part II: Changed Reflection. Kanna tries something with her mirror, and it takes her to a place she never knew existed, as well as revealing something that she probably shouldn't have known...
1. Unbroken Webs

A/N: This is a one-shot centered on Sesshomaru and Kagura. Implied pairing. It doesn't really take place anywhere in the actual story, but it's plausible to happen.

This is my first IY fanfic, but feel free to criticize. Oh, and could you let me know if the characters seem OOC? I tried really hard to keep them in character, but I'm not sure if it worked...

Please review!

Word count: 1, 549

---

_Unbroken Webs_

She felt so helpless, dangling in his arms like that. Not that she hadn't felt helpless before. Every time Naraku squeezed his already tight grasp on her heart she would fall into it again, that loyal submission that always made her want to kill herself. But she hadn't the courage.

Kagura scoffed at herself. 'I, the great wind sorceress, afraid?' She suddenly felt Sesshomaru squirm underneath her, the slight digging of his claws into her back a sure sign he wanted her off. Now. Kagura suppressed a hiss of pain and gingerly raised herself out of the youkai's grasp. Her feet met the ground, and she abruptly collapsed, groaning as she lay in a heap on the ground.

Sesshomaru didn't seem to notice. He looked at her with a gaze filled with pity and derision, but no emotion, as usual, showed in his cold, cold face. Kagura could feel his contempt on her, and in a fit of anger, she staggered onto her feet. This was too much like Naraku; she couldn't stand it.

She opened her mouth to speak, but yet again, that strange emotion possessed her. She feared him, though she didn't know why. In some twisted way, the fear she felt now was like the fear she felt around Naraku, but the anger that usually accompanied it wasn't there. Kagura cowered slightly before the tall figure, desperately hoping he would not strike her also.

To her surprise, he didn't do anything of the sort. In fact, he didn't seem to notice at all. His gaze was now directed rather forlornly at the fading horizon, and on impulse Kagura did the same. The fiery red glow of the sun made her heart ache, and Kagura turned her head away too quickly, wincing at the sting in her neck. Her breath came in ragged gasps.

Sesshomaru shot a sidelong glance at the proud, slender, but horribly tattered wind creature beside him. She truly was a pathetic sight. Her kimono was frayed at the edges, and her beautiful black hair fluttered askew. He could see her, watching him with a kind of haughty anxiety, but Sesshomaru made no move to respond. She reeked of Naraku.

The sun was setting, its ethereal glow disappearing. _'This will not do,'_ thought Sesshomaru, deciding it was time to leave. He started to walk away, expecting Kagura to stop him. She did.

"Sesshomaru." Kagura's words were just above a whisper, her deep voice hoarse. "Don't go."

The taiyoukai stopped, knowing this was coming. He waited, faint anger simmering, indicating with a quick flick of his eyes for her to continue.

Her tone suddenly turned condescending. "Will you not reconsider? I'll give you anything." Sesshomaru could hear the clear hint of desperation in her voice. What was this weakness? A whisper of pity stirred in the regal lord's heart. His eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"I said no." His voice held a deadly edge, and the demon paused, letting the words sink in. "Like I said, kill him yourself." He felt her exhale sharply, and Sesshomaru knew he'd hit his mark. Perhaps now she would stop being such a weakling. The graceful demon started to walk languidly away. She would not bother him again. Rin was waiting.

Her next words, though, caught him off guard.

"Then kill me."

---

_'Then kill me…kill me…_' Her words registered vacantly in Sesshomaru's head, making his eyes widen. He turned around slowly, fixing Naraku's pitiful servant with a shadowed gaze. 

"And what makes you think I want to do that?"

Kagura hesitated. Why did she say that? Wooziness filled the wind sorceress, and she placed a hand on her forehead apprehensively. Hissing, she drew it back, feeling the sting in her side as she did so. Hot.

Sesshomaru frowned. Something wasn't right. Naraku's scent was growing, bringing with it a rotten stench that made his eyes smart. The air was stiflingly still, a rare occurrence when a demon that could manipulate wind was nearby.

"I don't know." Kagura's voice broke into his musings. Her next words were fierce. "Just do it."

Sesshomaru noticed a strange potent green sheen in her eyes, a terrifying contrast against the red. There was something wrong. 'But what?' Sesshomaru questioned, feeling frustrated. His body tensed, and unconsciously his hand reached for Toukijin. A fleeting thought of Rin entered his mind, but he brushed it away. Now wasn't the time.

"Hurry up!"

Sesshomaru blinked, straightening.

"Do it now. Just—" She was cut off as a hand violently clutched her waist. In one slash, Sesshomaru sliced open the right side of her kimono. Kagura was too shocked to say anything but stared at her right side with increasing disgust.

A shimmering gold-green spider was half embedded in her flesh, but already three of its hairy legs were protruding out, carefully hidden beneath the folds of her kimono. The creature convulsed, and Kagura moaned suddenly, keeling forwards. Sesshomaru grabbed her, and in one swift move, slashed the disgusting arachnid out of her skin.

Kagura fell limp into his right arm. The spider fell to the ground. It started to writhe, then got up onto eight legs and tried to scuttle its way to freedom.

Hatred the likes of which Sesshomaru had never felt raged inside him, and he stabbed his sword into Naraku's pet with unbridled fury. He waited, unseeing, and utterly disgusted.

The thing shuddered for a moment, then lay still. A few moments later, the spider dissipated, grey dust dancing into the wind.

The wind. Sesshomaru hadn't noticed it, but now the wind was active again, swaying the trees with tired but playful gusts. He stole a glance at the lifeless wind demon in his arm. If anything, she looked even paler than before, her lips an uncanny red against her white face. He dropped her softly to the ground.

Suddenly a flash of something crimson caught his eye. His fur. _'It's-it's stained,_' he thought, staring at the dark red liquid dripping gently from the bottom. He looked at Kagura again, this time, more closely.

A small pool of blood was gathering on the grass.

Without further ado, Sesshomaru walked over, drew the demon gently into his arms and away into the night.

---

_Dodging, dancing, a forced smirk on her lips as she fled his attacks over and over again. Another blast of wind, another slash of poison claws passed in vain. 'What a fun game,' she thought sarcastically, dodging yet another lunge from the powerful taiyoukai. She shouldn't have been doing this. She didn't know why she was. Her body didn't feel like her own, but her thoughts did, which was strange. Her body was following her thoughts, but…is this really what she wanted?_

_Kagura jumped lithely away as a claw barely missed her cheek. Yes. This was what she wanted. She wanted to prove to him that she was competent, that she could stand up to Naraku. But—if that was the case, why didn't she just kill the bastard? 'Because…' Kagura shook her head. She wasn't afraid. Besides, if she couldn't prove it to Sesshomaru, then she would just die anyways. It all worked out eventually._

_In a moment of planned distraction, she moved slower than she should have, expecting his attack to land. But it didn't. He paused also, making Kagura start in surprise and fall into him. Right into his arms. Even then, he did not strike. And that's when she felt helpless._

_Then, then…Kagura racked her mind. She couldn't remember what happened next. All she knew was that her thoughts, her will, they were no longer alone. They were no longer hers. She said something about him killing her…and he refused to do it. But that was what she wanted right? To a degree, yes…but someone else was behind the actions._

_The last thing Kagura remembered was crimson, the dark rich colour a startling contrast against pure white._

---

"It was Naraku, wasn't it?"

Sesshomaru nodded nearly imperceptibly. "Yes. I believe it was him who planted the spider in you."

Kagura scoffed. "That bastard."

Sesshomaru didn't answer.

"He made me do it, you know. He made me fight you." Sesshomaru looked at the wind sorceress beside him. She was already back to normal, blunt and fiery. Kagura looked up, feeling his gaze. Their eyes met, and she felt that sudden fear again. It was like those golden eyes could see into her soul. _'He knows,'_ she thought with unease. _'He knows.'_

She dipped her head down hurriedly. Regardless of this little encounter, she knew that Naraku still had a hold on her heart. Better to leave now before the bastard summoned her. 'Don't want to make a scene now, do I?'. Whipping out a feather from her neat bun, she rose into the sky, looking down at the taiyoukai.

_'I still have hope,'_ she thought, an unexpected ache in her heart. _'He can help me.'_ Sesshomaru looked up.

"You're not a half bad fighter," she called downwards, the strong, nonchalant words a mere coverage for what she felt. Her heart pounded, and Kagura resisted the urge to make up a silly excuse and stay. Gripping her fingers even tighter onto the edges of her feather, she prepared herself to say her final words.

"And – " She hesitated. "Thank you. Farewell, Sesshomaru."


	2. Changed Reflection

A/N: This started out as a one-shot on its own, but after it was written, I thought that it fit quite well with the Unbroken Webs, so I added it in. Enjoy!

Word count: 2, 220

_Changed reflection_

Maniacal laughter?

No.

Spider webs, an abandoned castle.

No.

A slaughtered village, children screaming.

Not that either.

Kanna lifted her eyes from her mirror. '_Why won't it show me anything different?_' she thought, mildly frustrated. Then she remembered. '_Oh yes_,' she thought. 'Naraku.' Kanna pushed away the angry shudder that suddenly threatened to overwhelm her at the name. '_No_,' she told herself firmly. '_I will not be like sister Kagura_.'

Nevertheless, the young white-haired girl lifted up her mirror once more, focusing blank eyes into the bottomless depths. An eerie black glow shimmered for a moment, and then the mirror cleared to reveal a young woman sitting on a grassy hill. Wisps of black hair escaped from her bun and flapped in the wind, and the woman lifted a hand, pushing them back impatiently into place.

Kanna stared at the image for a moment. "Kagura," she finally said, slightly tilting her head. She gazed a few moments longer, eyes wide and face passive, appearing almost lost in thought. Suddenly she stood upright, obviously having to some decision. Kanna turned a head calmly to either side of herself, surveying the empty hall with bland eyes.

'_He's not here_,' she said to herself, looking into the mirror once more. '_He won't be back until later_.' Unseen on the outside, a wave of panic rose to swamp the girl, reminding her of the consequences if he found out. An image hit her of Naraku holding a pulsing red organ, his threat ringing in the stale air. '_I hold your life in my hands_…'

Kanna blinked and the crystal clear replay of Naraku faded from the glass, revealing the hunched woman again. Something like pity stirred in the girl's blank eyes and a soft sigh escaped her lips, misting the surface of her mirror. It faded away too quickly though, because a few seconds later, Kanna found herself staring at her wind sister's still form again, beckoning her to disobey. Kanna's mouth started to form words, silently at first, but bit-by-bit they became discernible through the stale, hollow hum of the castle.

" – He'll find out, he will, he will!" Her small, expressionless face held the slightest hint of dread, and she spoke as if trying to confirm herself of something she didn't want to do anyway. "I shall not be like sister Kagura. I won't, I shouldn't…" her voice trailed off again, and she stared once more at the mirror, seemingly doing nothing at all. The shiny sheen on her forehead hinted at some sort of turmoil beneath Kanna's calm surface, but her face continued to show nothing. It was quite remarkable. But then…Her voice loomed out of the darkness once more, but this time, the anxiety in it was unmistakable.

"…I can't." Something twisted in the faint glow of her eyes, and Kanna's grip on her mirror suddenly tightened, the knuckles showing the slightest bit of red through the papery-fine skin. With deceptive serenity, Kanna set down her mirror, leaning it carefully against the wall. Bits of spider webs and rotting bones were brushed away nonchalantly, causing a puff of dust to swirl at her touch. Kanna didn't even blink, and instead focused on removing every last bit of dust from the surface of her precious, precious mirror.

For the first time since she had been here, Kanna's small form radiated a clear tenseness, visible through the stark and uncommon intensity in her eyes. Her lips were also uncharacteristically pursed, and her brow was shimmering with what appeared to be sweat. She mumbled softly to herself, the ending consonants catching in the air clumsily, almost like they were begging to be heard. A stray draft blew in from an unseen opening, rattling the ashes and bones of forgotten soldiers. Kanna shivered; She shouldn't go.

"But now is your only chance!" a small, insignificant little voice cried. "Naraku is weak now…become free…" the haunting voice trailed off in a husky whisper, and Kanna was forcefully reminded of Kagura once again. Suddenly she frowned. Where did the voice come from? She stole a glance at the small round piece of glass at her feet, its edges already gathering dust again.

'_Not her?_' Kanna considered it for a moment. '_No, can't be her_,' she thought, attention now firmly directed on her mirror again. '_She's never spoken to me like that before_.'

Kanna's eyes widened in mild surprise as she realized she called her mirror 'she' again. Lately, especially during Kagura's long and mysterious absence, the young girl had gotten accustomed to speaking to her mirror, and all too often caught herself referring to the object as 'she' in her thoughts. It was strange what that did to her, because speaking to her mirror had awakened desires Kanna never knew she had: a will, a hope to be free, but more confusing, a flame of anger that ignited at the most awkward and unwelcome of times. There were even moments when Kanna swore she saw her own reflection staring back at her, but with black hair, red eyes, and most shocking, a smile. That girl in the mirror…it looked like Kagura, almost, only…she had strange bloodstains on her kimono. Kanna shuddered. It gave her a creepy feeling to think of the girl in the mirror as Kagura.

But thinking about Kagura only brought the young girl back to her predicament. Should she? Should she try? Suddenly feeling uncharacteristically brave and daring, Kanna bent down to the ground, blowing softly on the glass's surface. It rippled curiously for a moment, and without further ado, Kanna slipped through the tiny circle, the hallway abruptly void of life.

* * *

Kanna opened her eyes to find herself in a strange dark place, seemingly a limbo between worlds. She looked around vacantly for a moment, then frowned. '_Where am I?_' she thought, a whisper of panic in her mind. This wasn't where she expected to be. The little girl continued to look around her, her movements quickly growing increasingly agitated. She shot a desperate look backwards, and with a jolt, realized that the way she entered was now gone. The glowing light of her mirror wasn't there. 

Kanna's breath quickly turned to gasps, and she began to paw her way through the black nothingness, feeling like she was drowning, but her limbs wouldn't cooperate. Regardless of the enormous space all around her, Kanna started to feel slightly claustrophobic, and she paused, wheezing for breath. "Where, wha – " she managed to choke out, hanging limply in the air. A sudden phantom touch on her shoulder made her whirl around.

Kagura hung suspended in the air, watching Kanna with a strange mixture of sadness and concern in her features. The familiar smirk and constant bitter frown was gone, replaced by a light, wistful air, remarkably similar to the wind she controlled.

"Kanna," she said, her words echoing strangely. "It's all right."

"Ka – Kagura," Kanna gasped in surprise, "Where am I?" The young girl shot another frenzied look around her, almost as if expecting Naraku to peek out of the shadows any moment.

" He's not here, don't worry," Kagura replied, her deep voice ringing confidently. "He won't be here for a long while."

"Where am I?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Kagura shot back, a little of her former defiance entering her words. "It's not my damn fault I'm here. Bastard." She was looking rather angrily at a random spot in the darkness, and a searing heat rolled off her like waves. Kanna decided it was best not to comment, but it wasn't like she could anyways. Her chest felt like it was slowly being torn in half, and the lack of air in this place was starting to slowly freeze her mind.

"Relax, Kanna." Kagura's voice broke into her anxiety. "If you relax, it'll be easier to breathe." The words clicked faintly in Kanna's brain, and she forced her small body to stop hyperventilating. Almost immediately, the darkness around her lightened considerably, and Kanna found herself breathing air in again, if a bit stale.

"See?"

"Yes…" Kanna said, awe filling her body. It worked. Kanna shot a look at Kagura, planning to thank her, when a series of dark blotches on the woman's kimono filled her vision, making her freeze. They weren't there before. Looking more carefully at the stains, she saw that they were somewhat unreal, swaying gently, like they were being rocked by an unseen wind. In fact, all of Kagura's body looked like that, and Kanna felt a shiver of fear pierce her as she saw. Kagura wasn't real. She was a soul.

But…Kagura wasn't dead yet. In fact, Kanna had just seen her, using her mirror as a window to see the outside. Kagura was sitting on the hill, moping, for some mysterious reason. Kanna suspected it was about Sesshomaru, again. But she hadn't sucked Kagura into her mirror. Which meant that Kagura couldn't be inside her mirror, meaning…she wasn't inside the mirror then, either. '_So where am I?_' she asked herself for the umpteenth time, not fully expecting an answer. _'Certainly not where I expected to be…'_

Kanna had entered the mirror on the frail hope that maybe she could use it as a portal to travel to other places. After observing the elusive piece of glass on a number of occasions, she concluded that apart from showing her different things at her will, it also had the power to take her where she wished. The thought of Naraku had entered her mind, but the girl had pointedly ignored it, continuing on the false hope that he wouldn't discover. '_How wrong I was_,' Kanna thought to herself, feeling remarkably stupid. '_And I'll be lucky if Naraku doesn't punish me after he finds out._' A violent terror suddenly racked her being.

Naraku! What would happen if he were to discover this? The little girl began to shiver involuntarily, curling up gently. What if she never got out, what if she was doomed to stay here forever? What if time never passed in this place, and she never found a way out? What if—

A soft, ethereal hand tapping Kanna's shoulder abruptly stopped her frantic train of thought.

"Kanna, it's all right," Kagura said, turning her sister around. "Naraku won't find you here." She scoffed. "Besides, if he was here, don't you think he would have discovered us by now? That bastard has no idea what you're doing, or where you are, being too busy reconstructing – " she shuddered " – to notice anything." She looked down at Kanna, frowning when the girl didn't respond.

Kanna found herself staring at the dark stains on Kagura's kimono again. Judging by the size of them, they were large wounds, quite capable of killing a person. '_Killing a person_?' Kanna thought, wonderingly, raising her eyes to Kagura's face.

Kagura's gaze suddenly turned sombre as she saw the pale little girl look up at her, questioning. She nodded nearly imperceptibly, turning blurry but flaming eyes somewhere far away in the distance.

"You're not supposed to be here, Kanna," she said quietly, all former ease gone. "It hasn't happened yet." She looked down again, focusing on a random spot in the girl's white hair. "I don't know how you managed to get here, but now isn't the time." Kanna was shocked by the amount of sadness in her wind sister's voice. She still didn't know exactly what was going on, but she thought that Kagura would have been happy being free, at last, even as this. A strange and unfamiliar feeling settled deep in the younger sister's chest, making her squirm uncomfortably. It was strange, this…emotion? There was a tense silence.

"Was it him?" Kanna finally said, her voice quiet. She felt Kagura nod, and Kanna wondered at the lack of life in the woman beside her. Staring resolutely at Kagura's kimono, her small body trembled from only the slightest tremor of horror at the state of the wraith before her. Kanna was used to this aspect. Souls…souls coming into her mirror, and souls coming out. So many souls. Kanna suddenly clamped her fingers tightly around the object in her hands.

Object? Her mirror! Had it been there all this time? She looked down at it, confused, seeing the surface of the glass rippling, just as it had been when she first went through. "I can go back," she said quietly, half to herself. Kanna looked up at Kagura, almost joyously.

"I can go back," she repeated, a rush of relief filling her. She stopped at the expression on the wind sorceress's face. "But I don't have to." Kagura started.

"No, Kanna," she said, a command evident in her voice. "You can't stay. You must go back. I'm not supposed to be here either, but I couldn't move on…" she trailed off. Kagura looked deep into Kanna's eyes, directing one last message, it's seriousness unable to be conveyed in words. "_And_ _don't tell…_"

---

Kanna entered back into Naraku's castle, taking an appreciative gulp of real air as she did so. She looked wonderingly at her mirror, watching the way the ripples died down, and the surface of the glass return to its solid state. "Don't tell… " she whispered to herself as she walked down the hallway, whirlwinds of dust flying at her heels. 


End file.
